Car-seal.



W. C. MARTINEAU.

CAR SEAL.

' APPLIGATION FILED MAR.13, 1911.

1,010,440. 7 Patented Dec.5,1' 91I.

WifEnesses Irwenfior,

5 M V v MMg/W COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH c0., WASHINGTON, n. c.

WILLIAM C. MARTINEAU, 0F ALBANY, NEW YORK.

CAR-SEAL.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 5, 1911.

Application filed March 13, 1911. Serial No. 614,046., 7

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM C. MAR- TINEAU, a citizen of the United States, residing at Albany, New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Car-Seals, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to seals for the doors of cars, storehouses and the like, for .gas and electric meters, and for similar purposes. Its object is to produce a device which shall be simple, efliclent, economical in construction, easily sealed, and absolutely non-replaceable after unsealing.

Further objects of the invention will appear in this specification and be pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a front elevation of the complete device; Fig. 2 is a front, and Fig. 3, a side elevation of the body or tag portion ofthe seal in difierent stages of construction; Fig. 4 is a transverse section on the plane X-X, Fig. 1, looking downward and with the shackle portion of the device partlybroken away; Fig. 5 is a partial vertical section through the plane YY, Fig. 4; Fig. 6 is a View similar to that of Fig. 4, showing a modification; F igs. 7 and 8 are planviews of an end of the shackle portion of the device, showing two forms of construction.

Referring to the drawings, except Figs. 6 and 8, 11 designates the body portion of my device, made of sheet metal, of which 12 is a tag portion, which may bear designating characters 13, and 14, a head portion. The head 14 is made by first cutting in its upper edge two notches 15, then folding it along the dotted lines, Fig. 2, to form a transverse rectangular tube 16 open at its'ends. As shown, four folds are made, so that the up per fold 17, in which the notches 15 are cut, is covered by the lower part of the blank, see Fig. 3. The blank may now be hardened to prevent unfolding.

21 is a shackle consisting, as shown, of an integral piece of wire, which may be of round or square cross-section and which is of considerable resiliency. At each of its ends is formed a hook 22, the extreme width of which is greater than the longer, transverse diameter of the tube 16. Spaced away I from the hook 22 so as not to interfere with its compression, is a close, double-return portion 23, adapted, as shown in Fig. 4, to substantially fill the tube 16. As shown, the

plane of the hooks 22 and bends 23 is transverse of the general plane of the shackle when in use, as shown in Fig. l.

The operation of the device will be readily understood from an inspection of the drawings.

The shackle 21 is passed through staples on a car door and body, or through any suitable fastening devices so that it acts to prevent tampering with the interior of a room, casing or other receptacle, and its ends are forced into the respective ends of the tube 16, the hooks 22 bending inward until they reach the notches 15, into which they spring, thereby preventing their subsequent withdrawal. The function of the bends 23 is to fill the tube 16 adjacent its ends, so as to prevent the introduction of a pick-lock or of any instrument by means of which the hook 22 could be compressed, or the notch 15 temporarily filled, to permit the withdrawal of the hook.

In the form of my device shown in Fig. 6, the head 34 of the tag portion is like that shown in Figs. 2, 3 and 4, except that only one notch 35 is cut therein. The shackle 41 is like that marked 21 in Figs. 1, 4 and 5, except that it is provided at one end only with the hook 22 and bends 23. At its other end it has a head 44, shown as swaged, which approximately fills the tube 36. This head 44 is inserted into one end of the tube,

which is then indented as at 38, so that the shackle cannot be withdrawn therefrom. In operation, the free end of the shackle is passed through the staples or the like, as above described, and secured by slipping its hooked end into the tube 36 so that the tip of the hook engages in the notch 35.

In Fig. 8 is shown a'modified form of shackle 61, like 21 in that it is provided with a hook 22, but differing therefrom in its anti-tampering means. Instead of the close return bends 23, it is formed with a series of transverse bends or waves 63, adapted as before to fill the end of the tube 16 or 36.

It is obvious that the operation of the device will be as above described.

It will be understood that certain modifications, other than those shown, may be made in the device without departing from my invention. I do not, therefore, desire to be limited therein except as set forth in the subjoined claims; it being of course understood that the phrase means for securing itone end of the shackle-to said body, or any equivalent phrase in the claims, is intended to include the construction shown at the left of either Fig. i or Fig. 6, or any suitable modification of either.

hat I claim is:

1. A car seal comprising a body and a shackle; said body consisting of a tag portion and a head provided with a notch in its upper edge and folded to form an angular tube with said notched edge covered by an imperforate portion of said body; said shackle consisting of an integral, resilient wire provided at one end with means for seculzng it to said body, and at its other end with a hook adapted to be forced into one end of said tube and to engage in said notch when in operative position, and means adjacent said hook for filling the end of said tube, substantially for the purposes set forth.

2. A car seal comprising a body and a shackle; said body consisting of a tag portion and a head provided with a notch in its upper edge and folded to form a rectangular tube with said notched edge covered by an imperforate portion of said body; said shackle consisting of an integral, resilient wire provided at one end with means for securing it to said body, and at its other end with a hook and a bent portion adjacent said hook, said hook being adapted to be forced into one end of said tpbe and to engage in said notch when in operative position, said bent portion being adapted to fill the end of said tube, substantially for the purposes set forth.

3. A car seal comprising a body and a shackle; said body consisting of a tag portion and a head provided with a notch in its upper edge and folded to form a rectangular tube with said notched edge covered by an imperforate portion of said body; said shackle consisting of an integral, resilient wire provided at one end with means for securing it to said body, and at its other end with a hook and a double return bend adjacent said hook, said hook being adapted to be forced into one end of said tube and to engage in said notch when in operative position; said bend being adapted to fill the end of said tube, substantially for the purposes set forth.

4. A car seal comprising a body and a shackle; said body consisting of a tag portion and a head provided with a notch in its upper edge and folded to form a rectangular tube with said notched edge covered by an imperforate portion of said body; said shackle consisting of an integral, resilient wire provided at one end with a hook and a bent portion adjacent said hook, said hook being adapted to be forced into one end of said tube and to engage in said notch when in operative position, said bent portion being adapted to fill the end of said tube; the other end of said wire and of said tube being provided with cooperating means including a headed end on said wire for permanently securing them together, substantially for the purposes set forth.

WVILLIAM C. MARTINEAU.

WVitnesses:

GEO. L. COOPER, WM. 7. MORRILL.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

